Grizzlies' Ja Morant Helped off Court With Ankle Injury vs. Thunder

Memphis Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant left his team's home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left ankle injury.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon and Mike Ceide of WREG TV offered more insight and context.

The injury occurred with the Grizzlies up 106-100 with just over three minutes remaining. He had 19 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in 32 minutes before exiting. Tyus Jones replaced him on the court to finish off a 121-110 win.

Morant's health became the biggest storyline of the Grizzlies' second-round playoff loss to the Golden State Warriors last season. That an injury appeared to happen during a play when Warriors guard Jordan Poole grabbed his knee only added to the controversy of the series that also saw Gary Payton II fracture his elbow from a hard flagrant foul by Dillon Brooks.

The Grizzlies announced Morant was out for the rest of the playoffs with a bone bruise in his right knee, and he played just 57 games during the regular season.

That, along with the reality that he is the face of the franchise, made his health a focal point heading into the 2022-23 campaign.

When healthy, Morant is one of the best players in the NBA who entered Friday with 29.3 points, 6.8 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game after posting 27.4 points, 6.7 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game in 2021-22.

One silver lining for Memphis is the fact it went 20-5 without him last season. It will likely turn toward Jones to start if Morant is sidelined following this setback.